How do I start?
 

Where's the information? To start.. I'm a beginner :p

thanks

some resources? Most of the threads in the other sections [GIM] I just don't understand.

Stocks have always bored me, but I've always been interested in investing. I have a hard time trading in $$$ for gold, it's hard to think of it as an investment when you won't be using it, then you can easily damage it, it can be confiscated, so it's a real risk. Wouldn't it be better to just buy gold stock? It's also hard to tell what is worth something and what is not, I look on ebay for gold a lot, but I just never know if it's worth it, so I don't bid.

I was here a few months ago, but I left to become more active in the RP campaign, I sort of lost interest in buying gold, the man is addicting lol

Re: How do I start?
 

For the long term just buy physical silver. You can get bags of 90% pre-1965 coins for under melt price now and with silver below $13 it's hard to beat.

For tangible investments all you need is good common sense. No training required. I made my money in real estate.

Re: How do I start?
 

First of all, decide why you would buy gold or silver.

Are you trading the gold and silver for trading profits?
Are you buying gold to preserve your wealth against a falling dollar?
Are you buying gold or silver to be able to barter in a TSHTF situation?

After you decide the above, then we can talk about specific suggestions for your particular situation.

Re: How do I start?
 

Yes, that's something I'd be able to buy a lot of, the rest that I see are a bit expensive, do you recommend a supplier?

I have read REI articles in the past, just didn't feel confident enough to get into it, one mistake and you're stuck paying mortgage, no buyers, maybe a busted up home, so that's probably something I wouldn't just jump into, it's easier to jump into metal investing, you can't screw up as bad.

All three. :D

1. It'd be cool to profit from this
2. Yes, I'd like to be safeguarded from the fiat monetary system
3. That too lol

thanks

Re: How do I start?
 

So from what I am understanding, profits are not the first priority. That your first priority is wealth preservation.

So for wealth preservation means gold. Most here advise 1oz Kruggerands to be able to get the most gold for your $$$. Personally I like 1/10 GAE and 1/4 oz modern commerative gold coins (I may be able to better barter with these than a full 1oz coin)

As far as tshtf stuff for bartering means to me "junk silver". Any form will do: dimes, quarters, halves, dollars. Again, I personally also like 1/10 and 1/4 gold coins for this too.

Re: How do I start?
 

Now you have to decide what ratio of gold to silver.

If you believe the "silver story" of the likes of Ted Butler, Sinclair, and the like.
Then maybe a 1 oz of gold for every 50 ounces of silver.

Looking for even more profits. T
Then maybe 1 oz of gold for every 100 ounces of silver.

Leaning towards more wealth preservation.
Then maybe 1oz of gold for every 25 ounces of silver.

Re: How do I start?
 

Looking to do some trading profits.
Consider trading the ETF's:
SLV (silver)
GLD (gold)
CEF (Canadian 50% silver/50% gold)

PLEASE REMEMBER to always have your core position in physical metals, cuz as Ponce says "if it ain't in your hands, you don't own it!".

Other trading methods you could research:

Swapping:
Please google "The Moneychanger, aka Franklin Sanders"
Swapping gold for silver when gold is overbought compared to silver, and swapping back into gold when gold is underbought compared to silver.

Buying and selling the extreme highs and lows.

PLEASE REMEMBER to never be trading in and out of your "core position". You NEVER want to loose it. Only trade in and out with a small portion of your position.

Re: How do I start?
 

For starters, read �Gold and Economic Freedom� by Alan Greenspan.

Re: How do I start?
 

New member here. I went to human resources of my company and asked a simple question. "Can someone in your organization give us the option to invest in precious metals as part of our 401k".

The answer was an absolute no and in some internal forums I got some laughs.

I would much rather own gold or silver (even aluminum).

Why can't I choose what to invest in? Stocks and funds will be worthless. Look at what happened with American Home Mortgage once those margin calls were put in. Imagine that happening on a larger scale. I want safety... not friggin paper!!!!!!!!

Any ideas on what I can do with that 401k $$$ would be appreciated.

Re: How do I start?
 

Some brokers who manage 401k accounts will let you trade from your 401k to a traditional ira that is opened with them. Fidelity has that option if your company allows it.

Re: How do I start?
 

The best ways to make money or preserve it are PM's, Real Estate, and Private Companies. I listed them in the order of difficulty. 90% of self made millionaire's made their money through Real Estate.

Stocks are big rip off and I would avoid them as much as possible. Why should someone have to sell you an investment? Look at how many ads their are trying to stuff stock's down your throat. Many elderly people have lost a great deal of their savings in stocks. Here is a general rule: The most profitable companies are private. If someone has a gold mine why would they sell any part of it to the public? There are exceptions to the rule but there you go. Financial stocks can be a wild ride if you don't know what the moneymakers behind the scenes plan to do in advance. I may have even owned AHM at one point. I had investments in similar stocks such as NFI, IHM, and others I can't remember. Glad I got out of stocks a few years ago only losing the $20,000 or so that I lost.

Re: How do I start?
 

Good stocks are anything not in the usa..try asia, latin america, india emerging markets, look for mutual funds, for more risk/profit look for single companies in those areas :)

Re: How do I start?
 

Where would I find such bags of pre-1965 silver coins at face value?

I'm interested in value preservation, and exchange in a shtf situation.

I have looked on Ebay but the markup from spot is quite high, especially with the shipping.

What is GAE, and is CEF an ETF?

Re: How do I start?
 

When you first come into the site there is a Beginner's Forum. Lots of good info there. http://goldismoney.info/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=153

'Take the red pill' for instance....

I agree, gold IS a terrible investment. However, you don't buy it as an investment. You get it as a hedge against inflation. It's nice to look at and hold. You probably won't damage it...no more than you'd damage a nice painting hanging on the wall.

Gold can be confiscated...if it can be found...two can keep a secret if one of them are dead....

If that's what you believe, then just hold stock in the Federal Reserve ~ they call them Federal Reserve Notes.

Do not buy from ebay. Go to your local coin shop and buy coins. That's what they do - sell silver and gold stuff. You will pay @ +$25 over spot per gold coin when you buy AND suffer -$25 under spot when you sell. That's their profit.

Re: How do I start?
 

SAE = silver American Eagle 1 oz coin
GAE = gold American Eagles - come in 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 ounce sizes

an ETF is an exchange traded fund - kinda of a cross between a mutual fund and a stock. The ETF may for instance hold several stocks in a specific industry like a mutual fund, but it can be traded intraday like a stock.

SLV = silver ETF
GLD = gold ETF
CEF = Canadian ETF that is 50% gold/50% silver

Re: How do I start?
 

I presumed that CEF had their holdings in real gold and silver.

Is that not the case?

Are they less secure, then purchasing gold/silver and having it stored in a custodial vault?

Re: How do I start?
 

How would one profit? I imagine wealth preservation would be something like backing your "personal economy" with hard assets, right?

Very interesting. I'm trying to gradually switch my assets from fiat to "hard assets" as income rolls in from when I work and stuff. I don't have hardly any bills and work is on / off for me so it's easy to just buy some gold and silver here and there.

Why do people barter? Who does the bartering? I ask because I never see people doing that much.

Not sure. Would the gold and silver ideally be in bar form or coin form? Where do you usually buy yours at?

What's a "core position"?

I'm guessing the "ETF" is like a stock market for metals? That ticker on the upper right corner of the forum? Do we need to go through brokers?

Alan Greenspan LOL They mentioned him on "Rise of Fascism" and that he used to be a "hard assets" kind of guy and now he's 100% Federal Reserve and fiat monetary system.

I will read that book, I have an Amazon.com gift certificate coming :D

What are PM's?

REI? Buying and flipping houses? That can be very difficult, could really screw you up if you make some errors in judgement.

Investing in private companies? How much do they range from?

I just never understand why we *need* to work through a stock broker. I'd prefer to be free to take advice and pay for services *if I want it* but to freely conduct my own trades.

Do you that silver and the other metals are good against inflation? Or only silver? Silver seems to be the best cheapest metal to buy in bulk.

I'll check if there are any around. You don't deal with online dealers?

Any other ETF's out there?

Re: How do I start?
 

What's a "core position"?

A core position is a position you hold onto through good times and bad times. It anchors your holdings. It is off limits to trading. It is an investment based on long-term fundamentals of the economy. Until the underlying fundamental changes, you hold onto this position.

Re: How do I start?
 

Here's a link to a complete list of ETFs.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor...&tab=&show=all

Below is a link for a video explaination of what an ETF is.

http://video.msn.com/v/us/Money.htm?...ey%20top%20ten

etf's vs owning and storing
 

Aren't ETF's just numbers on a page.

As such couldn't they just disappear in an instant?

How do ETF's in gold/silver compare with purchasing gold/silver and having it stored in a custodial vault?

Re: etf's vs owning and storing
 

ah...that's a loaded question.

There are some who are now questioning the change in the SLV and GLD prospectuses in whether they actually hold ALL their holding in physical, or whether they own some paper holdings of the metals.

As for custodial vaults. If confiscation were to become law, would your vault contents be safe from it?
NOTE: there are some very trustworthy vault programs such as The Perth Mint.

But as Ponce says "if it aint in your hands, you don't own it"

owning and storing
 

Probably not, as it appears the vaults are subsidiaries of various banks. :bear_cry:

Surely at least "owning" it (in the vaults), would be more secure than ETF's though?

Another thing is they mix all the contents in the vaults, so you don't have any specific property there.

Re: owning and storing
 

Not quite true.

There are two types of vault storage.

Segregated - this is where you can store your specific items. It is separate from everyone elses. Of course this has higher storage fees associated with it.

and

Unallocated (unsegregated) - this is where everybodys metals are stored together. Lower or no storage fees apply here. Two I know of have no storage fees: Bullion Direct and The Perth Mint.

Re: How do I start?
 

Do you know where the Bullion Direct storage facility is located?
I don't find it on their site.

Nice list of acceptable PM's for an IRA.
http://bulliondirect.com/IRA/products.do

Re: How do I start?
 

Most places won't publicly tell you the address where the vault is located.

It's just not a good security measure to make it public.

Re: How do I start?
 

I think they should disclose the site and very strange if they don't.

There is no secret about facility locations in general.

Anyway I sent an email and asked. Will see what happens. :D

Re: How do I start?
 

I can see the conversation now:

"So, can you tell me where all your gold and silver is located? Uh huh ... and can you tell me about your security measures? OK, thanks ... and you said there were how many guards? And when do the shipments come in...?"

I dunno, I'd be pretty suspicious ... :haha:

As for your questions, some good rules of thumb would be to buy at least a potion of your holdings in physical bullion - coins are hard to beat. Krugerrands (1 oz) for gold and silver rounds or maybe silver eagles or maples for silver. You can often find nice deals at local coin shops, online, or at coin shows (the best I've found). Just try to get the most metal for the least $$$ (closest to or under spot) and you can't go too far wrong.

If you want to protect against different things, diversify a little: some 90% silver coins for possible trading purposes if things go really bad, some .999 silver rounds, some silver eagles/maples, some Krugerrands, and a few fractional gold coins if you don't pay too much over spot for them.

And maybe some pretty stuff to look at here and there, like silver lunars, or gold eagles or maples. I like to make it 90% investment, and 10% fun hobby. :applause_

Re: How do I start?
 

Thank you for the suggestions about coins and bullion. As I said before, it sounds strange that any holder of your assets would want to keep their location a secret from you. I got a reply from Bullion Direct last night and it turns out they keep the gold and silver in banks, perhaps local ones.

Central Fund sent a very nice and detailed reply yesterday. My questions and their reply are posted before.

- - - - - - -

I am considering to invest in CEF and have a couple of questions.

1) Are all of the gold/silver assets of the fund located in Alberta?
If not, then what percentage is located there and elsewhere?

2) The disclaimer on your web site is not very encouraging. Is CEF secure, to me?

3) How stable would my funds in CEF be in the case of a U.S. monetary collapse?

Thank you.

- - - - - - -

Thank you for your interest in Central Fund.

1) The majority of Central Fund's gold and silver bars are held in a
segregated vault in the main branch of Canada's second largest bank, CIBC
Bank, in Toronto, Ontario and the remainder is held in a Vancouver, B.C.
branch of the same bank. Central Fund's Head Office is in Calgary, Alberta
but the bullion is not held in that province.

2) Central Fund's bullion holdings are absolutely secure but perhaps you
realize that there is a risk to any investment where you buy and sell your
shares on the open market.

3) If you purchase shares of Central Fund in the U.S., you most likely have
bought the stock in U.S. dollars. If the value of the U.S. dollar declines,
this doesn't mean that your investment in Central Fund declines. Central
Fund's market price rises and falls according to the number of buyers and
sellers which is in turn determined by the rise or fall of gold and silver
prices. The CEF market is determined by supply and demand. Therefore, your
investment is based on the rise and fall of the prices of gold and silver,
not on the value of the U.S. dollar.

Central Fund can also claim that its bullion bars are inspected at least
twice annually by members of the Board of Directors, independent Auditors
and bank personnel at the same time. No other company can make this
statement.

- - - - - - -

Re: How do I start?
 

If you can�t store physical the only service of that nature I would use is Goldmoney.